Ricciardo said fans were even shouting "shoey" during an F1 Live promotional event in central London on Wednesday.

"I'm just walking along, minding my business and they're like 'do a shoey' ... I don't actually just take my shoe off while I'm walking in the street and drink out of it. I feel like I dug a hole for myself with this one," he said.

"On that note, I feel like it's been fun. I want to say it's run its course; we'll see what happens."

In Austria, while television commentator Brundle drank deeply from the shoe, Mercedes' race winner Valtteri Bottas made himself scarce.

Ricciardo was unimpressed, even if he conceded that the shoey could be risky when races were back-to-back because the top three could all pick up something that put them in hospital for a week.

"I heard the Finns drink. I really heard that. But Valtteri did not carry his flag well last Sunday," he said.